Florence Waters gives her verdict on the fifth episode of Stirctly as
the 11 remaining couples took to the dance floor.

• Denise topped the leaderboard for the third time with an elegant Viennese Waltz. Kimberly was not far behind• Richard Arnold sunk to the bottom of the competition after losing his balance in a foxtrot• It was a disappointing night for Victoria and Lisa with ballroom numbers that failed to wow the judges

20.48 There are some great backstage photos now on the blog. The results show begins at 7.20pm tomorrow. So I'll say good night for now. Thanks all for joining, and do let us know what you thought of tonight's episode in the comment box below.

20.25 It's been a telling - if rather serious - night, with a lot of ballroom. And a reminder of how much can change in a week. Michael has put in by far the most hours of all the stars, I'm told, and it's paying off. He keeps on rising up the Leaderboard. Denise, on the other hand, is going from strength to strength and walked away with a stunning 35 points.

Before I leave you for the night, here are some of your thoughts from Twitter this evening:

20.10 We need to think carefully about who we vote for tonight. This is a crucial stage in the game. We begin to get an idea who's stepping up to the challenge (Michael? Colin?), and who has peaked too early (Louis? Victoria?).

Who will be called to the dance-off tomorrow? Tonight's lowest score went to Richard and Erin, after Richard lost his balance in a foxtrot. They could be joined by Victoria and Brendan, who took a giant leap backwards to 23, or Lisa and Robin who failed to impress judges with their Brian Ferry tango.

20.07 33 from the judges for the toy team. Not bad. They could be this year's hit stocking fillers couldn't they? Fifties Vincent in a quiff, doing a body-roll, and Dani with her low finger-clicking. Too cute.

20.05 Craig draws shocked laughter from the crowd with his bitchy aside: "You need to keep your legs together, darlin'. I just copped an eyeful."

Brucie pretends not to hear. How odd. Maybe Craig bullies him.

20.04 Dani Harmer and Vincent Simone have been my favourite of this series. Did you see Dani's nippy feet?

20.02 Our pocket-sized pair take to the floor with a jukebox for a cute jive. Perfect.

19.58 "You shine in ballroom," says Darcey. "Best foxtrot of the night," says Len. Michael could be the come-back story of the series. Could he go all the way? What do you think? He was favourite to go last week. If he continues to improve like this, he'll be with us for a while. Look at that smile. He looked at Brucie like a boy who just saw Santa.

19.55 Can Michael Vaughan loosen up for a foxtrot? Well, his upper body is a bit trunk-like, but his legs are elastic tonight.

19.52 Sixes all round and they are thrilled with that. It's their highest score. Fern blows a kiss to the camera. She's the oldest dancer remaining in the series, at 55, and she's doing so well. Let's hope she can cling on for another week. It's progress, and who knows what could happen next week?

19.50 For once I agree with Craig! "I was slightoly distracted by Artem," he says. Honestly. I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd stamped all over poor Fern and carried her off in his pocket.

19.47 A bit of "cloakography" from Artem who is really into the matador thing tonight. I'm told Fern Britton has really struggled with the floor dragging. She's hiding the pain well (I think, when I can take my eyes off Artem who has really marched to the fore tonight...)

19.45 Now Darcey has given sevens to both Louis and Nicky. Bit of a double standard going on here?

19.39 Westlife singer Nicky Byrne is dancing the Rumba, the dance of love, to Aerosmith. Lots of hugs and posing and posturing. A bit sleazy perhaps?

Bruno thinks it was very powerful. He's quite excited. But he is Italian...

19.37 Mixed message on the high kicks from the panel. Bruno thinks Colin has more levity than Darcey Bussel. But the ballerina herslef compares him to John Cleese in the Ministry of Silly Walks.

It's a PB for Colin tonight with a grand total of 27.

19.33Colin Salmon is dapper in tails, but he's playing Jeeves a little bit....

19.32 I think Louis was disappointed with the judges verdict, but there are naughty comments aplenty on Twitter that might compensate

@CatherineStribz Louis smith doing the samba anyday!! Someone get me a glass of water (;

19.28 Interesting, a divided panel. The men love it. "Manly," said Craig even. But Darcey's words are controversial. She's had boos. Will she bring him down?

19.26 "Peak condition" says Brucie jealously.

Bruno's tongue is twisting like Louis' back-end: "You have to be the king of hypnotic gyratic vibrations," he chirps.

19.24 Louis Smith (just 23, and last week's leader) thinks he's too shy, but I think he was born to dance the samba! Ricky Martin just inhabited his hips. "Boom boom" sings the music. Indeed.

19.19 Only 23 for Victoria this week. It's not her lowest - but not her best either (last week she was up at 31). Latino was never going to be her thing was it? But I think it's had a good influence on her. She's beginning to relax, and the chemistry between her and long-suffering Brendan is warmer than ever.

19.17 Victoria looked so happy this week, but will it last?

"Samba has to be much stronger." Bruno is scathing. "You loose your focus at the end," says Darcey.

19.15Victoria Pendleton was above Denise on the leaderboard last week. She's got some tough scores to beat.

19.12 Take note. Top score of the series. Three nines and an eight (from Darcey). That is telling, given that Denise put in fewer hours than any of the others this week, so I'm told.

19.10 "More turns than a Catherine Wheel," says Len. Zing.

The panel of judges are frothing with glee. A triumph... but can she beat Kimberly?

19.06 That gives poor Richard a total of just 17. Needless to say, the trouser-less rehearsal did not pay off (see pic below)

19.03 Oh dear. Richard has been christened "The Plodfather" by Len. Poor Richard is doing his best to rise above his disappointment. He even hugged Brucie. Desperate times. I think we're in for a record low for Richard...

18.59 Richard Arnold is in pinstripe for a 'Big Spender' foxtrot. These two have lovely chemistry, but will it make up for his wobbles? Craig thinks it was a "disaster".

18.57 Not bad at all. Sevens, and a six from Len. That deflated them a little.

18.52 "How did you keep a straight face through that," says Bruce. She was impressively serious, but what about the routine? Craig is on the attack.

18.51 Lisa has a great tango pout but there's a lot of head-flipping in this number. You're risking whiplash, girl.

18.50 "Ballroom has been Lisa's downfall so far," says Robin. This is going to be her big test, a tango.

18.43Kimberley and Pasha's salsa has been a huge success with the judges! The highest score in the competition so far. Eights all round, and a nine from Bruno! "That's what I call a show opener," says Tess. Quite.

18.40 Poor Kimberly Walsh has injured her knee but.... oh what an entrance! She's channeling Moulin Rouge on a circle swing, and no sign of any hobbling.

18.38 Oh Fern! You've drawn the short straw with the dress this week. She's in a dumpy airport lounge-blue number, and dancing with Artem who is dressed lustily as a half-naked beefcake. This might not be good news for poor Fern Britton.

18.38 "The fireworks will be happening right here". That was Tess. I think Bruce is rubbing off on her (metaphorically)

18.37 Nice to see you Bruce. Tess has a poppy-red dress this week. Smashing. I think we're in for an elegant night tonight.

18.33 And we're off! Oh dear we just got ALL the Halloween jokes replayed together again in a painful one-minute of re-cap of last week. Unneccessary.

3. Richard - will his trouser-less training pay off with his Foxtrot feet? Love this pic from this week's practice rooms.

2. Michael - after last week's come-back (he was the favourite to leave but blew us out of the water with his ballroom number) can he keep it up and stay in the game with a foxtrot (brave choice at a critical time)?

I'm not the only one with my eye on the former cricketer

andrew flintoff ‏@flintoff11Can't wait to see what you have in store for us tonight @MichaelVaughan ! I'm going to spend some more hard earned cash voting RT #strictly

18.20 Here's who I'll have my eye on tonight:

1. Lisa - how will she fare without a ghoulish or hilarious outfit to fall back on? Undoubtedly she got great rhythm, but this week's tango, I think, will be the making or breaking of the show's surprise talent

18.15 At last! A night of pure dance. From Hollywood to Halloween, we've had some fun, but the gimmicks are wearing thin. So, based on Thursday's training preview for week five, what can we look forward to tonight - besides some no doubt explosive firework jokes from Bruce?

18.00 Good evening all, I'm Florence, your Strictly liveblogger this evening, standing in for Michael who is ill. I'll be accompanying you through the fifth live weekend of this year's pro-celebrity dance contest and I'd love to hear your opinions. It promises to be a glitzy, ritzy two hours as the celebrities take to the dancefloor, desperate to impress the judges and avoid the bottom two. It's showtime at 6.30pm, so please join me.

And join in too – you can tweet me @florencewaters or leave comments at the bottom of this blog. I'll do my best to keep an eye on them and report the highlights. Lights, camera... get ready for twinkle-toed action.